Bridgewater-Raynham future educators honored

Wednesday

Thirty-two seniors signed "letters of intent" to pursue a career in education at the first annual "Future Teacher Signing Day" at the high school Wednesday morning.

BRIDGEWATER — Meet the future educators of America.

Crowded on the auditorium stage at the high school Wednesday morning, 32 seniors signed “letters of intent,” similar to students committing to college sports team, to pursue careers in education.

In addition to parents, students and high school faculty showing support, other school officials were in attendance, including Bridgewater-Raynham School Committee members, Superintendent Derek Swenson, college admission officers, Brian Devine with the state Department of Secondary and Elementary Education and State Rep. Angelo D’Emilia, R-Bridgewater.

Before signing, students introduced themselves and talked about why they want to become teachers. Some mentioned wanting to make a difference. Others talked about their love of working with children. A majority of them talked about a teacher or family member in their life who was an influence on them.

Senior Molly Gordon, 18, of Bridgewater cited her 13-year-old cousin Theo as the driving force in her decision to pursue a career in special education.

“He was born with Down syndrome, so he has been a big influence on my life, all around,” she said. “Now I work with special needs kids at The Bridge Center. He’s just a very big inspiration for me throughout life. I’ve learned a lot from him and he’s learned a lot from me.”

The idea for the event came about after Bridgewater-Raynham school officials received a letter from the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education encouraging educators to consider hosting a “Future Teacher Signing Day.” The letter noted that hosting such an event “can help people see teaching as a valuable career worthy of celebration and may help inspire others to become educators.”

Mary Dooley, head of the guidance department, and Future Teachers of America club adviser and special education teacher Lisa White jumped on the idea and organized the signing.

“I was thrilled to be a part of it and I can see it growing every year,” Dooley said. “As a matter of fact, I jokingly told Mr. Swenson that we needed a bigger stage. It was a great way for us to be recognized and recognize the future educators of the next generation.”

Principal Angela Watson said that she is "super proud" of Dooley and White for pulling the event together, as well as the 32 students involved. She also said that she was thankful for the community support.

“I loved how the kids talked about who inspired them,” Watson said. “I know that means a ton to our teachers as it does to me.”

Staff writer Corlyn Voorhees can be reached at cvoorhees@enterprisenews.com

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